209: How to plan 2 weeks of content

Tell me what describes you right now...

“Content takes me a lot of time” 

“I struggle to be consistent” 

“I struggle to be organised” 

“I never know what to post”

This is all part of our new campaign - Around the World in 90 days - your ticket to good content marketing! 

Welcome aboard flight CQM222, I am your pilot, Mariah - you have your ticket to good content marketing in hand. 

While on this flight the flight attendants will be here to assist you to get off the content creation hamster wheel and onto a new way of marketing to help you live a more freedom-based lifestyle. 

Each week you will be given a new stamp in your passport and by the end of the 90 days you will be on your way to explore the world of Content Marketing as a solo traveller. 

This is week nine - get ready, it is going to be a wild ride! 

If you LOVED this part of your trip (the episode), make sure you share this on your Instagram stories and tag us @contentqueenmariah.

⁠✨ ⁠⁠⁠⁠JOIN OUR CONTENT PLANNING WORKSHOP✨⁠

KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS 👇

  • The 3 steps to creating 2 weeks of content

  • Why you need to plan this (to save you time and your sanity)

  • How to create more intentional content

SHOW RESOURCES 👇

If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @contentqueenmariah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Other than that, enjoy - chat next week 💕

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

This is your pilot speaking my name is Mariah and welcome to this special series of the content Queen podcast. You have boarded flight c q m 222. And you have in your hand your ticket to good content marketing. We hope you have a safe journey on this 90 day trip. Strap in and get ready to experience all the strategy and learning you need to enter 2024 with the direction on how to create content that is unique to you and your business.

While onboard you have complimentary access to all the learnings that will help you attract your own new passengers to grow and expand your own trip. While on this flight the flight attendants will be here to assist you get off the content creation hamster wheel and on to a new way of marketing to help you live a more freedom-based lifestyle.

Each week you'll be given a new stamp of your passport and by the end of the 90 days, you'll be on your way to explore the world of content marketing as a solo traveler. seatbelt on, get ready to take off.


Hello, gang. All right, how are you? How are we going? Welcome to something a bit different and interesting in 2024. It is no more that we are in the era of posting and hoping for the best. So this episode, I'm going to talk you through how to create two weeks worth of content.


And before I do that, though, if this episode resonates with you, if you are listening to this live in January of 2024. We are hosting a workshop to help you build out this content with this three-step process. So I'm going to take you through a three step process.

And after that, you can come and join us and start the creation process it is on Feb one for those in Australian time or Jan 31 For those in sort of the Americas. As for UK and Europe I don't know the timezone exactly works, but basically it is going to be Feb one at 10am Australian Eastern Daylight Standard Time, which is around 6pm PST. So you can check out the link via our show notes.

It's $35 it's 90 minutes and we will be giving you the tools and the time to create this content. It's going to be magical come and join us. We already have people waiting to welcome you in and join this experience. So as I said, I'll put all the details in the show notes but I'm going to take you through and by the end I'm sure you'll be convinced that you need to come and join us it's super affordable and it's what you need to kick start now. Two weeks worth I think is a good amount to be planned.

I like to go about yet 10 days, maybe a little bit less, maybe a little bit more depending on what I've got going on. But basically, I'm going to share a little bit of the process of how I plan content in this workshop to help you but this sort of process I'm going to take you through is can go beyond two weeks but I always find like I'm a strategic person but I'm also a super creative person. So I don't want to be too far in events and I know there's a lot of people that resonate with that they don't want to be month to month ahead and this is not I'm going to teach you how to create a year's worth of content in two minutes because that is just not sustainable.

So firstly, I want to take you through whether you feel like this. You this content creation journey is can be super frustrating, but magical. At the same time. Now as an entrepreneur, you didn't start your business become a content creator and yet here you are creating content for your business to help promote your services. And basically, the process goes like you can be super inspired one minute and then super self-conscious, limiting beliefs, mindset struggles, time struggles, thinking of ideas, struggles, all in the same day or week of content creation.

So yeah, you can feel super inspired, ready to create and then you might sit down and go oh my god, what am I doing? Happens This happens when it comes to creating content, because it is a creative process, but it's also a strategic process, as I mentioned. So a lot of the things that come up when I talk to entrepreneurs is things like I don't have any ideas. Or if you have ideas I don't have any time I struggled to be consistent. And there's these sort of mindset shifts that hold me back. And I wonder if you feel the same.

I've felt all of these I've had clients that feel all of these and that's where like this blend of strategy yet creative journey and process. Really go hand in hand. And this is what you know, accepting and understanding this process is kind of one of the first steps but I want to share a little bit about my own experience when I first started my business because I started my business to be more of a content writer, but I was working in social media marketing and marketing.

So I ended up blending these two together once I'd learned a little bit more and once I'd done my own process, but basically what had happened is I started my business basically in June of 2019. But I really struggled to find a consistent process because I knew I was going to Europe and then when I was in Europe I basically just posted my travel photos and that's not really what you do with a business page.

There was no strategy. When I got home. I didn't have a strategy either and I started coaching with a business coach. But what I was doing is I had all these different channels. I had a YouTube I had my email, I had my Instagram, Facebook. I had a bit of Pinterest. I had a blog and I was just about to start a podcast.

Now I remember this moment. It was a Sunday night. I was back home I lived in Melbourne but I was back home seeing family and I was running around trying to get content ready for the next few days ahead. And I remember doing this YouTube video I was like Mom, can you just feel me typing something into Google?

Because I think I was doing a YouTube video on something. website. Or SEO-related or something. So I was getting my mum to fill me just typing is like a B roll content as I was just staring and talking to the camera that was super rushed and it was thrown out and put together in the meantime was doing a blog on a completely different topic and I was also trying to start up my podcast all of it was crap. And it just needed to be posted because the next day just had to be done.

You know, it had to be done. This happens. This happens with a lot of people. I've had clients that have these podcasts that are creating so much awesome information and they're running around trying to find out what to post on Instagram. Yet they have this gold podcast just sitting there. There maybe they've taken a break from because they're focused on Instagram thinking they need to create all this different content. It happens.

Repurposing strategies are super important for this right like they're super, super important and a whole content strategy, obviously is the key. And that's what I would like you to have. But I understand right now maybe you're just like I just want to learn how I can create this content. So really, when you have the strategy, the plan and the framework to create the content, then you can build the habit, post good content and save some time in the process.

And that is the key to strategy. And that is where we address all those pain points of consistency not knowing what to post and time and I've been saying this for years, right years and years and years. And I'm still gonna say it because it is it is a hill I will die on strategy. But when I talk strategy, there's so many other elements of strategy other than just posting posting is like the the tactic or the outcome of the strategy, right.

And this is something that I go through in various other courses but in Well, when I say various I mean content bootcamp. But this workshop, I'm really focusing on the planning, right? And then of course, the next step is actually building the strategy once you've gotten the confidence of posting because I do agree with some creators that do say or some business owners and marketing experts that sometimes you do just need to get out there, start posting and then learn and build the strategy later. So I totally get that.

So this is just like the start of that. And then we can go back and lay the foundations of course I would like you to lay the foundations first. But I know some of us are just like I just got a post on social media. So just tell me what happened to so let me share the three things that make up creating two weeks of content from a very simple strategic way without adding all the foundation work that we do need to make time for but maybe right now you're like Nope, just tell me.

So the first element is what and this is purely what I teach. People call things different things like everyone has different names. They're all have the same name, but we all have kind of different meanings but I'm just going to share my what I teach and my meaning of things. Right. So the first thing that I teach are content buckets.

So a bucket is basically a topic or a category. What you want to be known for now we had the episode last week all about branding, what you want to be known for could stem values when it comes to branding. I want to be known for fun I want to be known for loyal. I want to be known for being open. I'm not talking word So what I mean by this, what I mean by this is think about your industry. Think about the things you are passionate about in your industry. And then think about things that probably make you a little bit unique.

So, for example, in my industry of course, I want to be known for content marketing and marketing and writing and all these things. So they're basically an example of a bucket. But there's some unique things that I want to be known for strategy and storytelling. And I've shared this story about how I went out for lunch with an entrepreneur and he had read a book on like a comedian slash illustrator, and he basically said, he wasn't the best comedian and he wasn't the best drawer but he put these things two together and he became quite unique and this person I've spoken to, was a builder and then he bought architecture and design into his business and it made it you know, going from one in a couple of 1000 in his area to you know, one in a couple of 100.

So this is why I was like, Okay, what are these two things that make up what I teach and it is storytelling and strategy, and they're the key things that I want to be known for. And then of course, there's some unique things about me and my business. We are purely online, digital nomads we travel so I like to bring this sort of travel element into my content. I do this through, you know, what is looks the visual aspect, and maybe I'd use analogies and hence this campaign is about travel. So I can bring travel in different ways I can connect with nomads.

And then also it works as well because when I'm marketing myself and when I'm, you know, working with new clients, they know I'm traveling, so And on that note, I am in a very loud Airbnb, in a city in Medellin in Colombia. So I don't know if you're hearing any the background noise I'm hearing but I apologize.

I probably should have said that at the start. It's not the best acoustics and that's what I've been putting off recording this because it's not amazing. But anyway, that's what makes my content should be unique as well because it's all really travel related. So and buckets can change right so I remember at the start of my content Queen agency journey, I was going through quite a massive health struggle. And that became part of my content because it was important and I was I was sharing sort of the lessons and the learning so buckets can come and go, but there are those core things that you want to be known for.

So what are they like write them down right now? What are these main things you want to be known for and you want to have like, so to do this exercise basically you can write out the all the things you're known for and then sort of categorize them into topics.

Basically, that's what you want to do. And these things are more of a like a set and forget in a way of you might not review them every week you might review them every three months or something like that, but have a think about it. I've had people you know that their dog is part of their content strategy because their dog is a really big part of you know, they kind of classify him as a team member. I've seen people bring stuff into their branding, like certain animals, and that becomes, you know, part of their branding lovers of Harry Potter Sound of Music, I've seen so many different things.

So you can bring a part of your personality or your brand personality into the content as well. But you want to have those like two core things you want to be known for that you know, underpin the things that you teach. And then these sort of like unique things.

I've had a woman that branding was all about lemonade, so she brought lemons and lemonade into our content. So you can go wild with this. You struggle with this in the workshop. We will have time to brainstorm this. So join us I'm really good at this. This is one of my superpowers is coming up with cool, interesting buckets. So you have your buckets. And then the next thing you want to work out is okay.

Based on an End If we're talking purely social media. Based on a Monday to Sunday calendar, what days can I realistically show up on these social media platforms? And where, for example, what days Am I on Instagram stories? What days Am I in the feed? What days are are they real content? What days are they just feed content? What days of movie I'm going live and this is purely Instagram on its own? And what does that content look like basically so when when is it going to be a video? When is it going to be you know a graphic element or something like that? If you're creating a blog or a podcast, this is a complete this is this is where we go really strategic. And this is something we dive in deeper in content bootcamp.

But basically, you want to allocate the day where you're going to consistently put out your newsletter or your blog or your podcasts and then you want to ask yourself where in the funnel does this piece of content sit? So we can arguably say that social media is basically top and middle funnel content but you are going which is like brand awareness consideration but you are going to potentially convert people on your social media.

And then if we're going to look at a podcast, it might be more likely middle to bottom funnel so consideration and converting, but if we're thinking Monday to Friday social media, we're going to lay out the days we're gonna show up, then we're going to think about what am I going to create top of funnel so fun and engaging content what am I going to create middle funnel content, which is educational content, and then what am I going to create bottom funnel which is promotional? I would argue in 2024. You want to be looking at more top and middle funnel content on your social media. Get people onto your email, list your website and then sell to them.

That is what I'm seeing. That is what I've you know, I've read a lot about but basically we want to use what I call pillars. So the second element is pillars. Top middle funnel, top, middle bottom funnel content, which I break up into fun, engaging, educational and promotional content which top middle bottom funnel it is the same thing. But I break out those fun, engage, educate and promote because within each funnel is a different type of content.

So in the top of funnel, you're going to create more fun, entertaining content, but then you're also going to engage your audience and get them to join the conversation. In middle, you're going to educate but you're going to educate about your brand and then you're also going to educate about your industry. And then bottom is promote. You're going to promote content, but your services in your content.

So basically the second element is working out what days you're gonna show up and what days you're going to show up in either top middle or bottom funnel content. If this is super, like, Whoa, what the hell's going over my head? That is a sign you need to trade the workshop because I am going to step by step take you through it. But if you're you know a bit about funnels, we had an awesome podcast with Maddie from birdcage marketing, so you could check that out and see you know how she sort of describes top middle bottom funnel content.

If this is going a little bit over your head, I recommend you go there. I also have a blog on fun, engage, educate and promote. If you'd like to learn more about that. I'll put them both in the show notes. But basically you want to lay out a calendar Monday to Friday work Monday to Sunday. When am I showing up where and what types of content Am I creating on those days? So you're not when you are mapping out the content. You're not going Oh, what am I going to post on a Monday you're gonna go okay, Monday is always going to be a educational post. Or a middle funnel content. What does that look like? And then you're going okay, cool. Bye. map that out.

Then what? That leads us into step three, the themes, how you know what you're going to talk about on that Monday, where it's going to be educational, is based on the themes you're going to map out. So the themes stemmed from a few things, but mainly a sales plan. When you know what you are selling on any given month, then you can go back and go okay, what type of content do I need to create that match my sales plan?

For example, if I write in my sales plan that I'm going to run a workshop in January, then it would make sense to create some content that relates to the topic of that workshop, hence this podcast episode how to create two weeks worth of content, which is basically what we're doing in the workshop. Now I'm going over the very basis of what that workshop is going to be about and I would love for you to join so we can really flush it out.

So basically, you're mapping out a sales plan. You can do this for more than just the next two weeks. I'd actually recommend you do it for three months, and then you can work backwards on the two weeks, right. So basically you're mapping out a sales plan and then from there, you can map out the topics of conversation.

You could do it weekly, monthly or quarterly. And that also could lead into what kind of marketing campaigns you do, which we really dive in a little bit more in episode. I'm gonna say two or five, but I could be wrong. I'm gonna put it in the show notes. It's all about mapping out your sales plan.

But basically, to create two weeks of content you need to know what themes and I call these themes. Themes you're going to be talking about. And then when you've got your pillars, so this day I am creating promotional this day, I'm creating educational, then you know, it's in relation to that theme and what you are selling. So you're probably thinking, Okay, well, that makes sense. Like we'd have the themes and the pillars work.

How do the buckets play into this? Well, of course, the buckets actually probably motivate what you're selling, what you're promoting what you're looking at, and really what you're educating on. And if there's something that you're not hard selling in that moment, you're not doing like a launch or a marketing campaign. You go to your bucket and you go okay, this week, or this month, I'm going to focus more on this element that I want to be known for and next month, I'm going to be focusing on the other. For example, there might be a month where I just talk strategy or a month where I just sort of focus more on storytelling.

And then, you know, I lead people maybe to my mailing list if I'm not selling anything, so that's how kind of the buckets come into play. So the three things you need to create two weeks worth of content is your buckets, your pillars and your themes. Once you understand these, you can map them out in a calendar content, calendar, social media calendar, then you can start writing and planning and working out because if you know, Monday's always going to be a video on education based off this this theme that I'm running at this given moment.

Whether it's a month, a week, quarter, you know exactly what you need to jump on talk about because you're the expert in this space. So if my theme is how to create two weeks worth of content, I can break that concept up into multiple different pieces of content, I can make it fun and engaging. I can address a pain point in this area. I can educate so I can take you through roughly the three pillars, or the three elements that I talked about. And then I can promote because I could share my workshop with you.

So that's how unfolds and it works. So, number one bucket number two pillars, number three themes, the three things that you need to create two weeks worth of content. And then there's a whole habit around this which I'm going to do a whole episode on like how to sit down and actually do it but if you need the accountability right now, join our workshop.

It's $35 it is a great investment for this year because it'll help you. You can then once you've got this process, you might map out more you might map out a month. But you can sit down and you can go through the process that I'm going to show you in the workshop because we're going to go through habits and things like that as well. So what happened to me once I started implementing this part of the plan?

Well, I have 200 plus episodes of this podcast, so it built consistency and built my brand because you know there's things that whenever people want me on their show, they're like, Oh, we want you to come on and talk about strategy. We want you to come on and talk about storytelling. And also people will say the content queen. So there's these elements of brand building that I've done.

People know I'm a digital nomad because I've shared it in my buckets, and then they'll share things with me about being a digital nomad. They'll connect with me I'm actually catching up with someone who's in Malaysia and who's a digital nomad who knows I'm a digital nomad because they're following my content and then the most important one is website traffic. Organic Search website.

Traffic is definitely not an issue for my business. And it's because I've put in the strategy to create two weeks worth of intentional content. So there's consistency. There's knowing what to post and of course, I know so it saves me a lot of time. So if this sounds like something you like, I really need to build this out and learn this in detail. The workshop is in the show notes.

I really encourage you join it set out intentional content for this year. You want to save a lot more time energy. You want to be consistent. It's a big goal of yours to be consistent. And then of course, get traffic to your website so you can convert them.

This is the workshop. I'd love to see you there. Everything is in the show notes. So make sure you join us and be a content queen or king. And remember developing your strategy and story develops your business thank you so much for joining me joining this flight.

Stab your passport and please don't forget to share this with all your business and entrepreneurial friends can do this by adding it to your Insta Stories and tagging us at Content Queen Mariah or just simply tell them about it. If you rate and review on whatever platform you're listening to this on, it'll help me get this message out there.

And of course we get people that email us because they want to join the show and they see the show because in the charts because it's got great reviews. So we have awesome guests coming up in Feb and march because of this reason. So the more you rate and review if you haven't done it on a lot of your Apple users, it is possible for you to leave right and review I would really appreciate it I know there's people that consistently listen because I look at the stats.

Follow me on Instagram or Tiktok and let me know any topics for the next because I have my themes mapped out but I don't have the content planned because I am a creative person so I like to leave space. If there is a topic you want me to mention or speak about in the future, reach out so I can add it into the plan and I hope to see you on the workshop.

Bye!

PodcastMariah MacInnesmarketing, marketing advice, how to be authentic online, business ownerComment